Pump



April 1952 E. B. SMITH ETAL 2,591,101

PUMP

Filed May 29, 1946 Fig.1 59 54 I! I 52 Ellis 13. Smith Les tar 11M owregy INVENTORS.

4 Wi /Q GENT:

aligning I within the cylinder.

Patented Apr. 1, 1952 PUMP Ellis B. Smith and Lester D. Mowrey, Wichita Falls, Tex.; said Smith assignor to said Mowrey Application May 29, 1946, Serial No. 673,013

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in deep well pumps, and particularly to pumps which may be inserted into a well, used for a period of time, and then the entire pump and standing valve assembly removed from the well for servicing, at a single operation.

' While various types of deep well pumps have been devised heretofore, these, for the most part, have been short lived, due to the fact that sand, mud and other abrasive material became entrained in the fluid that was being pumped and caused the working parts to wear rapidly with a resultant loss of efficiency. When removing these pumps for re-servicing, it has usually been necessary to pull the tubing.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a deep well pump that will operate in a well over a long period of time with a minimum of care.

Another object of this invention is to provide adeep well pump which may be run into the well or removed therefrom without the necessity of pulling the tubing in order to remove the pump.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a deep well pump, valves which are positively closed and positively opened on each complete stroke of the pump.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a deep well pump which has self-aligning, free floating valvular sleeves.

The present invention provides a pump for deep wells, the entire pump unit of which may be inserted into and removed from the well as a unit, and which inserts or removes the standing or foot valve assembly with the insertion or removal of the plunger assembly. The pump provides for positive closing and positive opening of the pump plunger valves so as to prevent sticking of the valves by magnetic action or by gas locks which are common in pumps which utlize gravity operated valves in the plunger mechanism. The pump also provides for a multiplicity of reversible valvular sleeves which are fitted within a cylinder in such manner as to prevent leakage during the pumping stroke.

In the pumping device embodying this invention, the valvular sleeves are actuated by a plunger rod, and which valvular sleeves are free floating within the cylinder at the free ends thereof, which enables the sleeves to be self- The valvular sleeves are provided with concave spherical seats so as to allow free movement of each of the. sleeves on their respective valve members. The sleeves are also provided with further concave ends so as to present a sharp edge for removing the foreign matter from the inner walls of the pump cylinder and at the same time ports are provided within the valve member to jet fluid against the walls of the pump cylinder to cleanse same and to carry away scrapings therefrom and to lubricate the wall of the cylinder.

An embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a well with the pump installed therein, and with parts broken away and shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the upper portion of the pump mechanism, with parts broken away and with parts shortened, to better illustrate the details of construction;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lower portion of the pump and showing a portion of perforated tubing below said pump;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6. of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

With more detailed reference to the drawing, the numeral 5| designates the casing of: a deep Well which has a casing head 52 on the upper end thereof. A well tubing 53 is positioned Within the Well casing 5! and has a coupling 54 on the upper end thereof which coupling is adapted to suspend the well tubing 53 from the casing head 52. A working barrel or seating nipple 55 is secured on the lower end of the Well tubing 53, as will be seen in Fig. l. The tubing and the working barrel are coupled together by a coupling 56. A coupling 51 is secured on the lower end of seating nipple or working barrel 55 and a length of perforated pipe 58 depends therefrom. A lunger or pump rod 59, as shown in Fig. 1, passes downward through well tubing 53' and connects with the upper end of movable cylinder 6!, in which cylinder is positioned valvular sleeves 60. These sleeves have their outer cylindrical surfaces fitted in fluid tight relation with the inner surface of the cylinder 6 I. I

A seating body 62, having an axial opening therethrough and having a reduced cup receiving portion 63, to receive cups 54 which cups are held in place by an annular ring screw threaded on the lower end of the seating body 62. The cups 64 fitted into an opening in the top of coupling 51 so as to form a fluid tight seal therewith. The body 62 has an enlarged annular ring 65 on the upper end thereof and which ring seats on seat 66 formed in the upper end of coupling 51. These cups 64 seat in coupling 5'! and the annular ring 65 seats upon seat 66 to form a fluid tight joint between the seating body 62 and the coupling 51, and at the same time these cups 65 furnish sufficient friction with the inner surface of coupling 51 to hold the seating body 62 within the coupling under all normal working strains.

Within the lower end of cylinder 8! is positioned a guide member 61 having an axial opening therein which surrounds a stationary tubular member Hi that is secured to the upper end of the seating body 62. This tubular member H! 7 extends upward into cylinder Bi and has an opening 68 therein to permit the flow of fluid upward therethrough and through tubular members 16a. A coupling 69 is positioned on the upper end of tubular member Hi and is adapted to couple the adjacent tubular member Ella therewith. The tubular members We interconnect the valve members I l, which valve members have convex spherical seats 12 formed on the lower ends thereof which are adapted to seat on the concave, spherical seats 13 formed centrally on the upper end of the respective upper ends of slidable valvular sleeves 60.

The "tubular members 'Hla are ositioned within the axial openings i l of the valvular sleeves 66. Each end of each valvular sleeve is concave and spherically recessed so as to form a sharp edge around the periphery of said ends of said valvular sleeves. These sharp edges each serve as a scraping element to keep the inner walls of the cylinder 6| clean. l

The upper end of coupling 69 and each of the upper ends of valves H have spherical faces 15, each of which faces seats within the lower spherical concave surface 16 of each of the valvular sleeves 60, so as to allow each of the valvular sleeves 59 to pivot about the respective interengaging surfaces l3 and 15, which will permit the valvular sleeves 60 to slidefreely within the cylinder BI and to permit ready alignment of the free ends of the valvular sleeves 63 with the inner wall of cylinder ti, which prevents binding or undue wear of the valvular sleeves or of the cylinder wall, should there be a slight misalignment of the tubular members Illa with respect to the cylinder 6|. Upon the movement of cylinder 6| in one direction, the valvular sleeves will abut against the respective spherical valve seats 12, leaving the opposite ends of each of the valvular sleeves 60 free to seek alignment with the inner I wall of cylinder SI, and upon movement of the cylinder 6| in the opposite direction, the spherical surfaces 16 of the couplingfiil and the valve members II will abut with the spherical surfaces "'13 of each of the valvular sleeves 60 to cause relative movement between the cylinder 5! and the valvular sleeves 69, with the opposite end of each' valvular sleeve being free to seek the proper alignment, as pointed out above.

members for limiting the downward movement of the sleeves.

Upon upward movement of pump or plunger rod 59 fluid is drawn in through perforations in tubing 58 and up through axial opening 68 and between ball check valve 83 and the seat thereof into the chamber formed in the upper portion of cylinder 6| until the end of the stroke is reached. Upon downward movement of pump or plunger rod 59 and cylinder 6| connected at the lower end thereof, the fluid that has been drawn into the upper portion of the cylinder 6| on the up-stroke will be forced downward through .axial opening or passage M in valvular sleeves The lower valve; 7 member H and the coupling 69 thus provide stop wash foreign matter from the inner wall of cylinder 6 l. The fluid will flow outward through openings 6 1a, as "indicated by the arrows in Figs. 9 and 12, into the annular-space 19 formed between the exterior of cylinder BI and the interior of the working barrel or seating nipple 55 and thence upward into well tubing 53 to the top of the well.

A standing valve seat 8| having an axial opening or passage 82 therethrough is positioned on the upper end 'ofupper tubular member Illa and a ball check valve 83 closes this axial opening under fluid pressure during the pumping operation.

Operation In the operation of the pump, the cylinder 5 I which is attached tov the lower end :of :the plunger or pump rod 59,1's lowered :into :the well casing until the annular ring t5 seat-son :seat ,66 which forms a shoulder in the upper end of coupling 51, and with the cups 64 wedgingly engaging the inner bore of coupling 51,1theelongated seating body 62, the tubular member 10 :and the standing valve assembly 81-83 will be maintained :in secure relation against movement during normal pumping operations, when once seated in place in coupling 51, however, axial movement within the limits of the stroke of the pump or plunger rod 59 will be permitted without affecting the seating of the cups '64 within :the coupling '51.

With the perforated pipe T58 immersed in the fluid in the well, the fluid will be drawn through the perforations thereof and through axial openings formed in seating :body 162, tubular member 0 and tubular members 10a and into and through axial opening 82 in upper valve .14 around the ball of check valve 83 and out into chamber formed in the upper portion of cylinder 6!, when 7 the cylinder 61 movesupward by the actuation of check valve 83 to close the axlal passagesiatand 68, and all the fluid entrapped'within the upper portion of the cylinder 61 will .be forced downward between the upper valve TI and the :seat' T3 into and through annular passages HI within valvular sleeves 6'0 and outward through radial passages or-openings H, which will discharge the fluid being pumped against the inner wall of the cylinder 6| to wash the wall and keep it -lubricated.

The downward movement of the pump or plunger rod 59 will cause the valvular sleeves 60, which are in close, fluid tight relation with-cylinder 6!, to move downward which movement causes the opening of a passage'betweenthe concave spherical seats 12 on each ofthe valvemem bers H and the concavespherical seats 13 on the upper end of the valvular sleeves 60. The downward movement of the valvular sleeves 60 will be r of the valve member ll and the lower end of the other valvular sleeve seating upon the upper spherical face I6 of" the coupling member 69. With the valvular sleeves seated in this manner, the fluid will be discharged out through openings ll, through aligned openings 61a into the working barrel 55 and upward through the annular space 19 formed between the cylinder 6| and the working barrel 55 into the tubing 53 of the well,

thence to the top of the well and out through coupling 54. V

Thus the fluid may be saidtofollow 'a path of quasi-N-contour. in passing upwardly in the tubular member 70, downwardly in the annular passages 14 and 61a, and finally upwardly through the space 19.

By the reciprocation of the pump or plunger rod 59, the cylinder 5! will move the valvular sleeves 6G upward, due to the friction between the outer diameter of the sleeves and the inner diameter of the cylinder, until the valvular sleeves seat in fluid tight relation with the valves H, and upon continued upward movement of the pump or plunger rods 59, and cylinder 6|, a suction will be created in the chamber formed in the upper portion of cylinder (ii to cause fluid to be drawn into cylinder 6| and upon downward movement of the cylinder, the cylinder will cause the valvular sleeves 60, under the influence of friction, to move downward to positively open the passages between valves TI and their respective seats 13, so as to expel the fluid from the chamber in the upper portion of the cylinder 6!.

Each of the valvular sleeves 69 is preferably reversible. so when a particular seat becomes worn that particular valvular sleeve may be reversed so as to present a new valve seat 13.

A pump unit, including the cylinder 6|, valvular sleeves 60, check or standing valve ill-82, tubular members 10 and 10a and seating body 62 with cups 64 in place, may be positioned on the lower end of the pump or plunger rod 59 and lowered into the well as a working unit, and when seated in coupling 51 in sealing relation, will perform the pumping operation until it is necessary to remove it for servicing, and when removed from the well on the pump or plunger rod 59, all of the mechanism connected therewith, including the check or standing valve, is removed, thereby enabling complete adjustment and repairs of all parts without having to pull the well tubing or to run the rods in the well again to remove the other parts.

The moving pump elements are preferably made of metal and are so fitted together that a minimum of wear occurs during the pumping operation. The valvular sleeves 6B are so fitted within the cylinder 6| that the edges at the opposite ends thereof clean the wall of the cylinder (SI each stroke of the pump, and the transverse openings 1'! within the positively operated valves 'II will cause the fluid to be directed against the inner wall of the cylinder so as to keep the wall of the cylinder flushed completely free of all sand and other foreign matter. Due to the construction of the valvular sleeves 60 and to the positively operated valve seats 13, the hazard of sanding up of the valves is minimized, if not completely eliminated.

The valvular sleeves 60 are moved by the push of the valves H and the coupling 69 respectively from one end thereof, so as to leave the opposite ends each free to align themselves with the cylinder wall. The valvular sleeves B0 are not rigidly attached to the plunger rod 59, therefore they are free floating so as to be able to seek the correot alignment with the cylinder wall, and not cause undue wear on the cylinder wall 6| or the valvular sleeves 60. i

The valvular sleeves may be of any length, but for purposes of illustration, it may be assumed that they are from six to eight inches long, and have a seating area of the length of each valvular sleeve against the inner wall of the cylinder Bl. This will seal off the fluid from passing between the inner wall of the cylinder El and the outer wall of the valvular sleeves 60. Upon reciprocation of the cylinder 6| of a stroke of greater length than the length of the valvular sleeve members, the cylinder wall will be wiped clean each stroke, thereby keeping the cylinder wall smooth, clean and lubricated.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A replaceable pumping unit insertable in a deep well casing for pumping a fluid therethrough, comprising in combination a well tubing having a working barrel coupled at the lower end thereof, and in alignment therewith, said well tubing being limited in its transverse dimension to permit its facile insertion into said deep well casing, means for rigidly and removably attaching said well tubing to said well casing at its mouth to hold said well tubing suspended longitudinally in said well casing, a seating body removably disposed in said working barrel and having a longitudinal passage formed therethrough, an upstanding tubular member of restricted diameter connected to said seating body,

said upstanding tubular member having a passage formed therein which interconnects with said passage in said seating body for the flow of fluid therethrough, a cylinder having its upper end closed, a plunger rod within said well tubing and connected to said cylinder for reciprocation thereof, said cylinder being of restricted diameter so as to fit loosely, transversely within said working barrel so as to form an annular space between the outer diameter of said cylinder and the inner diameter of said working barrel for the flow of fluid therethrough, a valvular sleeve fitted in said cylinder and frictionally held thereby, said sleeve having a terminal portion contoured to form a valve seat, a guide member attached to said cylinder adjacent its lower end for partially closing said end, which guide member has an axial opening formed therein and having radially spaced axially extending openings formed around said axial opening, said guide member surrounding said tubular member and being slidable with respect thereto, check valve means within said passage in said upstanding tubular member which passage leads upward from said seating body, means within the length of said upstanding tubular member to engage said guide member on the extreme upward movement of said cylinder but permitting limited longitudinal, reciprocating movement between said cylinder and said upstanding tubular member, valve means rigidly disposed on said upstanding tubular-member, said valvular sleeve surrounding said upstanding. tubular member and being spaced transversely therefrom to provide an annular passage therebetween and said sleeve ar ranged to reciprocate relative to said valve means disposed on said upstanding tubular member of opening and closing off flow of fluid be tween said valve means and the end of said valvular sleeve to and from said annular passage upon reciprocation of said cylinder so as to permit a discharge of fluid from said cylinder through said radially arranged openings in said guidemember into and through said annular space between said cylinder and said working barrel, thence upward through said well tubing and out of said Well casing, said cylinder, upon being raised by said pump rod, causes said valvular sleeve to be raised to seat upon said valve means to close oil the flow of fluid into said annular passage thereby preventing the entrance of fluid through the radially spaced openings formed in said guide member, and simultanenus-1yexertingsuction on said tubular member to open said check valve in said passage so as to draw fluid upward through said passage in said upstanding tubular member into the upper portion of said cylinder, said cylinder being lowered during its reciprocation to force said valvular sleeve downwardly away from said valve means toopensaid annular passage and cause the fluid entrapped within said cylinder above said check valve to pass outward from said cylinder through said annular passage formed in said valvular sleeve and through said radially spaced openings in said guide member in a downward direction into said well tubing and upwardly therethrough and out at the upper end thereof, the complete path of travel of the fluid being of aquasi-N- contour.

2. The unit set forth in claim 1 in which there is provided an annular stop member caried by said tubular member adjacent said annular passage and adapted to be contacted by an end of said valvular sleeve for limiting the downward movement of the latter, and laterally and downwardly directed passages in said stop member communicating with said annular passage and serving to direct flow of fluid from said annular passage against the internal wall of said cylinder to flush foreign matter from said wall, said flushing flow being operative only when flow is permitted in said annular passage by the stated opening'action of the valvular sleeve relative to said valve means.

3. A replaceable pump unit insertable in a deep well casing for pumping fluid therethrough, comprising in combination a well tubing having a working barrel coupled at the lower end thereof and in alignment therewith, said well tubing being limited in its transverse dimension to permit facile insertion thereof into said deep well casing, means for rigidly and removably attaching said well tubing to said well casing at the mouth thereof to hold said well tubing suspended longitudinally in said well casing, a seating body removably disposed in said working barrel and having a longitudinally formed passage therethrough, an upstanding tubular member of restricted diameter connected to said seating body,

said tubular member having a passage formed therein which interconnects with said passage in said seating body for the flow of fluid therethrough, a cylinder having the upper end thereof closed, a plunger rod within said well tubing and connected to said cylinder for reciprocation "thereof, said cylinder being of restricted diameter so as to fit loosely, transversely within said working barrel so as to form an annular space be tween the outer diameter of said cylinder and the inner diameter of said working barrel for the flow of fluid therethrough, a plurality of valvular sleeves fitted in'said cylinder and frictionally held thereby, said sleeves each having their terminal portions contoured to form seats, a guide member attached to said cylinder adjacent the lower end thereof for partially closing said end, which guide member has an axial opening formed therein and having radially spaced axially extending openings formed around said axial opening, saidguide member surrounding said tubular member and being slidable with respect thereto, check valve means within said passage in said upstanding tubular member which passage leads upward from said seating body, means within the length of said tubular member to engage said guide member on the extreme upward movement of said cylinder but permitting limited longitudinal, reciprocating movement between said cylinder and said upstanding tubular member, a plurality of axially spaced apart valve means rigidly disposed on said upstanding tubular member, said valvular sleeves surrounding said upstanding tubular member and being spaced transversely therefrom to provide annular passages therebetween and said sleeves arranged to reciprocate relative to said valve means disposed cn said upstanding tubular member for opening and closing off flow of fluid between said valve means and the end seats of said valvular sleeves to and from said annular passages upon reciprocation of said cylinder so as to permit fluid to be discharged from said cylinder through said radially spaced openings in said guide member into and through the annular space between said cylinder and said working barrel, thence upward through said well tubing and out of said well casing, said cylinder, upon being raised by said pump rod, causes each of said valvular sleeves to be raised to seat upon said respective valve means to close ofi the flow of fluid into said i 7 per portion of said cylinder, said cylinder being lowered during the reciprocation thereof to force said valvular sleeves downwardly away from said valve means to'open flow through said annular passages to cause fluid entrapped within said cylinder above said check valve to pass outward from said cylinder through said annular passages and through said radially spaced openings formed in said guide member in a downward direction into said well tubing and upwardly therethrough and out at the upper end thereof, the complete path of travel of the fluid being in a quasi-N-contour, partitions carried by said tubular member and located between portions of said annular passages and the internal wall surface of said cylinder, fluid guiding passages in said partitions leading from said annular passages and directed radially outwardly and downwardly against the internal wall surface'of said cylinder in a downward direction 'to flush foreign matter therefrom and to eject said foreign matter with the fluid from said cylinder, said flushing flow being operative only when flow is permitted in said annular passage by the stated opening action of the valvular'sleeve relative to said valve meansand said plurality of valvular sleeves providing plural valve control means to control the flow of fluid in automatic sequence to the reciprocation of said cylinder.

ELLIS B. SMITH. LESTER D. MOWREY.

REFERENCES CETED The following references are of record in the file or. this patent:

, UNITED STATES PATENTS 

